Mask of the Devil

Some of the cinematography is excellent, getting good value out of limited locations. The visual effects, while clearly low budget, were very well executed,

The script and acting, however, are awful.

There are one or two moments when I thought it was meant to be deliberately bad in order to parody some stereotypical situations, but then I realised it was just going to be like that all the way through.

The pacing of the film is also slow and dull, making it hard to stay engaged in what story there was. The plot itself is quite weak, you get no character development or interesting twists and turns. It's exactly what you'd expect from reading the summary.

Overall, this film was a disappointment. The limited locations were the only redeeming factor, but even they were not enough to save the film from its poor script, acting, pacing, and plot.

Unless you are studying low budget filmmaking techniques, avoid this one.

This movie is a total disaster.

It's amazing what people film and put in the horror genre.

British films of the last decades are a mixture of comedy and horror and everything in between.

To make matters worse, the budgets are obviously very tight, so the film's class is 0th production.

I would not recommend anyone who is a sincere admirer of film as an art that speaks in pictures to watch this film because it would be a waste of time.

Not horror, not comedy, not scary, not funny, not good for anything.

The bottom of the bottom.

The worst thing is that there is no group of film critics who would discredit such films in a timely and impartial manner so that we don't get annoyed for nothing.

This ... movie? ... starts out with what looks like a "Coming Attraction" trailer for another "movie," presented as if it were ripped straight off a forty year old VHS tape with tracking problems. The "stars" in this fake film have equally fake names like "Voohees," "Krueger," ... yeah.

Once that's over, the "Feature Presentation" ain't no better. Poor acting, poor lighting, poor quality, poor sound.... In case you can't tell, everything about this is poor. Add boring into the mix and ....

Good Lord. You can only say so many things about a movie that isn't even worth 15 minutes watch time. Oh good... Minimum Character Limit Met.

DO NOT EVEN BOTHER.

I recently met the filmmakers and got to see Mask of the Devil. I really enjoyed it. It's a good script; solid writing with some really witty one liners while maintaining believable characters. Good acting all round with Martin Payne as a standout. Technical stuff was all good. This might be low budget, but definitely doesn't look out of place among the big players. I really love the titles and credits too, so much atmosphere. No real spoilers, but this is a two-for-one in a way. The second half takes a U-turn into another genre. Keep your eyes peeled for the parody porn poster titles in the background too; there are some really creative and fun parodies. Worth your time.

As a horror fan I was pleased to be able to watch Mask of the Devil last night. The film starts with a bit of a back story of where the cursed mask came from, for a low budget film this was ambitious, but so superbly done it hooked me in right from the start! As we get to present day the believable set up with Mary still living with her strict parents again is convincing with a nice level of humour and stylishly done. When Mary starts her new job in a seedy porn production company there are lots of cringey moments and as the character has been set up well you care what happens to Her. Once the horror starts again there are some nicely done effects and visuals, it does becomes a little more predictable as the crew are picked off, but it is still an enjoyable watch!

Over all I think this is a great achievement for a low budget film, it certainly entertained me. Well done to Richard Rowntree and crew, defiantly the best film yet from Ash Mountain Films!